#734- > Dean Zucchero - Song For the Sinners (PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com)

 

2025 – Pugnacious Records

By Phillip Smith; Mar. 1, 2025

Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com

 

I first became aware of Dean Zucchero through his work on Ghalia Volt’s Let the Demons Out and her One Woman Band albums. It was Zucchero’s Electric Church for the Spiritually Misguided which really brought him into the forefront of my awareness. His talents as a songwriter and bass player are strongly coupled with his talents for song arrangement and music production. Zucherro’s latest release Song For the Sinners serves up a luscious feast of a dozen blues-soaked tracks. The record features an amazing list of guests such as Jimmy Vivino, Johnny Burgin, Bobby Rush, Victor Wainwright, Albert Castiglia, Little Freddie King, Mike Zito, John Nemeth, John Boutté, Tiffany Pollack, Glen David Andrews, Sean Riley, Ron Hotstream, Jake Eckert, and Jerry Dugger.    

Zucchero leads the album off in a blast of heavy blues-rock with “Biting Through”.  With Vivino on the mic, lead and rhythm guitar, along with Burgin on second rhythm guitar, this searing track oozes with true grit, reminiscent of bands like Mountain and Blue Cheer. The funky blues of “South Side” draws me in with a welcoming New Orleans-flavored groove and keeps me tuned in with its depiction of the city’s warzones overrun by pushers and criminals. Topped with the brassy sounds of The Roadmasters’ Horn Section and the whisky-soaked vocals from Andrews, this track is indeed a favorite. Another standout selection is the folk-blues track called “Lullaby” with Dugger on vocals, Rush on harmonica, and Eckert on dobro/electric guitar. This ode to making through the night brings to mind the writings of Taj Mahal. Castiglia and Pollack are paired for the glorious duet “Shine”. Pollack’s voice is absolutely illuminating and Castiglia also joins on lead guitar culminating in a free-wheeling Grateful Dead-like jam. Unspeakable acts and an unescapable situation result in a girl’s dire fate in “Suicide For Jesus”.  Hotstream, on acoustic guitar and vocals, beautifully performs this melancholy song in troubadour fashion.

The depth that Zucchero goes to in developing his songs is a stand-out reason I admire his work. From the very first listen, Song For the Sinners had my full attention. I highly recommend this record.

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WEBSITE & SOCIALS

 

Dean Zucchero

https://www.deanzucchero.com/

 

 

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#678 : Nick Gravenites with Pete Sears - Rogue Blues (PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com)

2024 – M.C. Records

By Phillip Smith; April 29, 2024

Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com

At eighty-five years old, Nick “The Greek” Gravenites is still creating music which sounds great. As a teen in Chicago during the early Sixties his musical brethren consisted of Michael Bloomfield and Paul Butterfield. Gravenites went on to become lead singer for Electric Flag and wrote songs for Janis Joplin, Pure Prairie League, Tracy Nelson, Roy Buchanan, Howlin’ Wolf and James Cotton. His latest album Rogue Blues contains seven all-original tracks with Gravenites at the mic, Pete Sears on piano/bass and Wally Ingram on drums. Guest musicians on this recording include Charlie Musselwhite on harmonica, Jimmy Vivino on guitar, Lester Chambers (Chambers Brothers) on harmonica and Barry Sless on pedal steel/acoustic rhythm guitar, with Keith Baltz on sousaphone, Willard Dixon on clarinet, and Roy Blumenfeld on drums.

I’m always excited to hear new musical material with Charlie Musselwhite manning the harp. When the album rolls in with “Poor Boy” and I hear that harmonica kick in along with Sears on the ivories, I am in my happy space. It sure emits a feeling of vintage Chicago blues. There’s a sophisticated finesse to “Left Hand Soul”, a beautifully played piano-centric track. Chambers guests on harmonica on this one. Gravenites masterfully creates new blues which belongs to a by-gone era with “Blackberry Jam”. It’s so wonderfully written. Baltz and Dixon on sousaphone and clarinet give the song a pre-war blues sound and it’s cool as hell. Musselwhite and Vivino step in on “Blues Back Off of Me”, and I feel every note sink into my being. Vivino returns for another favorite “Brown Paper Bag”. This country-folk drinking saga features Vivino on mandolin with Sears on piano, according, and bass. I definitely detect some Charles Bukowski inspired wino-energy spilling over. It’s a great song.  

Rogue Blues is a one-of-a-kind recording which fans of classic blues will surely love. I like it a lot.

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 For more information about Nick Gravenites, visit his website at https://nickgravenites.com/ 

#676 : Canned Heat - Finyl Vinyl (PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com)

 

Canned Heat

Finyl Vinyl

2024 – Ruf Records

By Phillip Smith; April 27, 2024

 

Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com

For a band whose music spans nearly Sixty years, Canned Heat has sure had a good run. Their latest album Final Vinyl just leaves their fans wanting more. It really is a terrific album. Dale Spalding leads the group on vocals and harmonica, with original member Adolfo ‘Fito’ de la Parra on Drums, Jimmy Vivino (Tonight Show Band) on guitars,keys,vocals, and Richard Reed on bass.

Kicking off this eleven-track album is the very-fitting “One Last Boogie”. Knowing this is their last album, this song is a bitter-sweet beginning of the end. I love all the automobile references in “Going to Heaven (in a Pontiac)”. Spalding rips it up on harp and vocals in this classic-style original. The great Joe Bonamassa steps in as guest guitarist on “So Sad (The World’s in a Tangle)” for a cooking blues track. The rhythm section keeps this one diligently churning. The most unique song is an instrumental called “East/West Boogie”. I adore this adaptation of the theme for the Apple TV show Tehran. The track absolutely shines. Things heat up for “A Hot Ole Time” with Vivino ripping it up on guitar and Spalding wailing on harp. I absolutely love the slide guitar presence to the harp-heavy deep-blues track “When You’re 69”. This is what the blues is all about,

Like a fine wine, Canned Heat’s Finyl Vinyl gets better and better with every listen. It’s surely a record blues fans will want to add to their collection.

 

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Jimmy Vivino & the Black Italians - 13 Live

Blind Pig Records,  2013

By Phillip Smith; January 11, 2014

In November, 2012, Jimmy Vivino, leader of Jimmy Vivino and The Basic Cable Band on Conan, reunited the Black Italians, a band formed twenty years ago, for a concert and recording session at Levon Helm Studios in Woodstock, NY.  This nine member ensemble consists of Vivino (guitar, vocals, piano), Catherine Russell (vocals) Felix Cabrera (harmonica, vocals), Danny Louis (keyboards, trombone, snare drum, vocals) Mike Merritt (bass guitar), James Wormworth (drums), Mike Jacobson (congas, bass drum, percussion), Fred Walcott (timbales, percussion) and Justin Guip (snare drum).

13 Live captures the energy and magic on the stage that evening, chronicling the performances of a few originals and covers by Bob Dylan, Johnny Winter, Traffic, The Band, and James Brown.  

Vivino tears it up on guitar as Cabrera does the same with his harmonica on Bob Dylan’s “From a Buick 6”.  And what’s really cool about the performance of “Maggie’s Farm”, another Dylan song, is the dueling lead vocals by Vivino and Russell. Splitting the song into male and female lead parts makes it interesting.  Also, the background vocals take on the role of an old-time gospel choir.  Can I get an Amen?  This one is pretty damn close to being my favorite song on the album. 

With vocals reminiscent more of Jimi Hendrix, Vivito takes on Johnny Winter’s “Fast Live Rider” with unbridled ferocity.  Guiding this track is Justin Guip, who lays down a driving head-bobbing rhythm on the snare. Another Seventies inspired cover they perform is Traffic’s classic, “Light Up or Leave Me Alone”.  This one gets kind of funky, and Vivito’s vocals on this one remind me of Danny Hutton from Three Dog Night.  Vivito and company also hit a homerun on their cover of the Band’s “Shape I’m In”.  Louis nails the keyboards, giving it a soulful groove.  I believe this is what the song may have sounded like if it were originally recorded at Stax studios in Memphis, TN. The way Catherine Russell delivers the vocals on Sugar Pie Desanto’s “Soulful Dress” is sexy and soulful.  Her lead vocals on “Fools Gold” is just as sweet.

“Song for Levon”, is a poignant tribute to the late Levon Helm, who passed away earlier in 2012, the same year this was recorded.  Vivino, playing piano and singing in a style reminiscent of Randy Newman, recalls his memories of the good times he shared with his good friend.  I feel my heartstrings being tugged on and I well up a little with emotion with each listen.  I love the last line, ‘It’s not what you take with you, it’s what you leave behind’.  That’s so true, and such an inspirational thing to sing.

13 Live, this thirteen track recording, is outstanding and I wish I could have been in Woodstock to experience it in person.